Is your Pokémon bulk worth anything? How to sort it in ten minutes

What counts as Pokémon bulk?

Bulk is the cards every pack is full of. Most cards have a small rarity mark near their number: a circle means common, a diamond means uncommon, and a star means rare. Those three marks have not changed in years (Pokémon's own guide). Commons, uncommons, plain rares, and Energy make up most of any box.

A hit is the opposite: a card worth pricing on its own. Full art cards (the picture covers the whole card), gold stars, and the special illustration cards from newer sets usually are. Cards with two black stars (the ex cards) and shiny cards from 1999 to 2003 sometimes are, so set them aside to check. Our card value guide shows every rarity mark if you want the details.

Is Pokémon bulk worth anything?

Yes, as a lot. Buyers rarely price commons one at a time, but they do pay for boxes of them, and they split bulk into groups because some groups are wanted more:

• Reverse holos and rares come fewer to a pack and look good in a binder, so buyers count them apart from plain cards.
• Old commons and uncommons from 1999 to 2003 are scarcer in good shape, and collectors who grew up with them want them. Even played ones sell.
• Trainer cards people still play are wanted by players, who need up to four of the same card.
• Basic Energy, code cards (the online game code in every pack), and damaged new cards are the least wanted cards in any box. Many mail-in buyers will not take them at all.

What should I pull out of my bulk first?

These are not bulk. Set them aside before anyone counts anything:

• Anything in a sleeve, a hard plastic holder, or a graded case. Leave it in there.
• Cards where the whole card shines, or that feel textured, or have gold or rainbow edges.
• Two or more stars, a gold or silver star, or the word PROMO.
• A small black circle with "Edition 1" in it (the 1st Edition stamp), or shiny cards from 1999 to 2003.
• Japanese and other language cards. Our guide to Japanese cards shows which ones to check.

How do I sort Pokémon bulk in ten minutes?

You need a table, a lamp, and six sticky notes. Label them with the six piles below, then:

1. Minute 1: set aside anything sleeved, in a hard holder, or graded. Do not take it out.
2. Minutes 2 to 4, the tilt test: tilt each handful under the lamp. If the whole card shines, it goes to Maybe hits. If only the picture shines, Rares. If everything but the picture shines, Reverse holos.
3. Minutes 5 to 8, the symbol check: look next to the card number, at the bottom right on older cards and the bottom left on newer ones. Two or more stars, or a gold one, go to Maybe hits. One black star goes to Rares. Circles and diamonds go to Commons and uncommons. Letter codes or text you cannot read go to Other languages.
4. Minutes 9 and 10: pull plain Energy, code cards, and bent or water-damaged commons into the last pile. Leave damaged shiny cards and old cards where they are. They can still matter.
5. Done. Take one photo of each pile from above, plus the fronts of your Maybe hits. A rough count is fine. You do not need to count every card.

What makes a box of bulk worth more or less?

More: older cards in the mix, clean corners, and a few hits still hiding in the box. That last one is why collectors say never to sell a box without looking through it first.

Less: a box that is mostly Energy and code cards, forty copies of the same common, or cards with rubber band dents, smoke smell, sun fading, or damp damage.

What happens to your bulk when you sell it?

The more valuable and in demand the card, the higher the share. Lower-value cards and bulk are counted and priced as one lot. We count bulk the standard way most buyers do, by type and by count, and we take Riftbound bulk too. You do not have to sort before you sell to us, and for a bigger collection we can come to you. Whoever you sell to, ask how they count bulk before you meet, and keep your piles together so you can see what you are selling. See how we work out every offer.